Search This Blog

Train Horn Sounded Four Times Before Crash With Truck

Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have revisited the Nevada crash site where tractor trailer driver Lawrence Valli crashed his big rig into an Amtrak train on June 24, 2011, killing himself and four people on the train.

NTSB officials arrived last week to reenact the chain of events that led to the fatal crash, putting a tractor trailer identical to the one that crashed through a variety of tests. Investigators skidded the tractor trailer and tested the brakes. They also conducted a test to see if the tractor trailer driver could hear the Amtrak train as it was approaching the railroad crossing. The engineer on the June 24 Amtrak train told investigators he blew his horn four times attempting to warn the driver of the railroad crossing. NTSB officials declined to reveal whether the train's horn could be heard from the tractor trailer cab.

Immediately after the crash, Amtrak and Union Pacific filed suit against John Davis Trucking, the company that employed Valli. John Davis Trucking immediately counter-sued. There are currently seven pending lawsuits against Amtrak and the John Davis Trucking Company in state court, seeking thousands in damages based on claims of negligence.

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Six people died on May 13, 2019, in a collision between two
floatplanes in Alaska that has safety experts cautioning passengers about small
aircraft. Alaska has been the site of three fatal small plane crashes in just
over one week, in addition to several across the US in recent months, highlighting
the many safety issues concerning small planes. Experts say the problem
lies in having fewer regulations over smaller, privately owned aircraft
compared with commercial airlines. Floatplanes Carrying Tourists
Both floatplanes involved in the collision carried tourists
from a Princess Cruises ship on a stopover in Ketchikan, Alaska. One of the
companies offered an excursion sold through Princess Cruises, while the other
was independently provided. The tourists were being taken to Ketchikan from the
Misty Fjords National Monument area at around 12:21 pm local time when the two
small planes—both float-equipped—collided at approximately 3,350 feet.
Bodies of 2 missing after Alaska float plane…

Hundreds of
passengers aboard a Viking Ocean Cruises ship experienced a dramatic rescue by
helicopter, with several later hospitalized, when the Viking Sky suffered
engine failure in the middle of incredibly stormy seas. Passengers told
reporters about their harrowing ordeals, either of being airlifted off the
listing ship in the darkness or remaining onboard and praying the vessel did
not sink. Officials are now questioning why the ship was in the sea at all,
given warnings about stormy weather, and how multiple engines failed at the
same time. Given the
number of people onboard the Viking Sky when its engines failed, it is
incredibly lucky that there were not more severe injuries, a common concern in boating accidents. What
Happened on the Viking Sky? On March
14, the Viking Sky cruise ship began a 12-day voyage from the city of Bergen,
in Norway. After it left the city of Tromso, on its way to Stavanger, the
ship's four engines shut down as the vessel encountered a massive storm…